After serving the city for 38 years and waiting out a six-month deliberation, Anthony Falco was appointed police chief on Thursday in City Hall, surrounded by family and friends.
Falco was the top scorer of the five captains who took the state-administered chief’s exam after they all had their years of experience factored in. But he sat through a lengthy back-and-forth between the city and state over who would make the appointment. Acting Chief Robert Lisa and Captain Edelmiro Garcia were also top scorers and thus were also considered for the job. Lisa got the best score on the oral exam alone, but had fewer years of experience than Falco, so his final score was lower.
The state was rumored to be favoring Lisa, while outgoing Mayor David Roberts and members of the City Council supported Falco.
According to the state’s appointment letter, Lisa was recommended by a panel of ex-police chiefs.
Lisa was offered a deputy chief position on Thursday, but no word was received by press time as to whether he would accept.
Mayor gets his man
City Clerk James Farina joked Thursday that he had been carrying around the oath of office in a St. Jude booklet for months, waiting for the appointment. But he said it wasn’t St. Jude, the patron saint of hopeless causes, who helped in the end. “It was someone more powerful – St. David,” he said, referring to Roberts.
The outgoing mayor had filed a court motion to stop the state from making the appointment. The court told the city to appeal the appointment power to the state’s Local Finance Board, but the board upheld Director Susan Jacobucci’s appointment power.
Roberts didn’t win the battle, but he won the war, because the state agreed last week to appoint Falco.
Voting under question
The delay may have bought enough time for the state to change its mind about Lisa. A local blog broke news last week that Lisa may have voted in municipal elections after moving out of town. Lisa kept an apartment here that he rented out, but his family home was in Raritan, N.J. A citizen activist reviewed voting records and other documents that showed that Lisa bought his home in 1997 and yet voted locally until 2007.
The Reporter received the records last week which seem to corroborate the allegations. Lisa said last week that he was advised not to comment on the allegations.
A representative from the Attorney General’s office did not return a phone call to see if any laws were broken. But according to a source, Lisa’s trouble would have been worse if he had been voting in both Raritan and in Hoboken, which he was not.
Looking ahead
Falco will take charge of a force that is facing layoffs. He also has to plan for a large Fourth of July celebration along the waterfront, and must help the department recover from scandals regarding the now-defunct SWAT Team.
On Thursday, Falco thanked supporters and said, “I will bring this Police Department back to the most professional and most efficient in the state of New Jersey.”
The state recommended that Falco’s annual salary not exceed $153,000.
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Whether the city will use the layoffs as a bargaining chip at the negotiation table is yet to be seen.
Over the years, Falco has commanded every department in the force. He was born and raised in Hoboken and still resides here.
Getting paid
The state recommended that Falco’s annual salary not exceed $153,000 plus longevity pay and possible college allowance.
For Lisa’s deputy chief position, they recommended $150,000 plus longevity pay and college allowance.
The police table of organization, an official job chart, does not currently include the position of deputy chief, so the state has asked the City Council to add the position.
Former Police Chief Carmen LaBruno was making roughly $220,000 per year and retired with a $350,000 payout plus a pension.
Timothy J. Carroll may be reached at tcarroll@hudsonreporter.com.